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Strategic Approaches for CAT Success: Ranking & Derrangements, One-word Substitution - Day 38
Edited By Irshad Anwar | Updated on Sep 20, 2023 04:31 PM IST | #CAT
Hello CAT 2023 candidates,
The CAT exam 2023 for MBA admissions 2024–2026 will be held on November 26. In this CAT 2023 60-day preparation guide series of Careers360, we will discuss the strategies on Derangement and Ranking Arrangement Questions for day 38 that can help you prepare well and crack the CAT entrance test 2023.
This article includes Ranking arrangement questions, one-word substitution MCQs, and Logical deduction meaning. Aspirants can go through the article below for further practice questions on Ranking arrangement questions, one-word substitution questions and logical deduction questions. CAT Preparation 2023 in 60 days
Part-1: Quantitative Aptitude for CAT exam
CAT Exam Important Topic: Strategy to Prepare “Permutations and Combinations (Ranking and Derangements)” and ranking arrangement questions
Important Concept/Formula Used in Derangement
Problems on Derangement and Ranking
- Finding of Rank of a word in a dictionary with no alphabet is repeating: See link in references
- Finding the Rank of a word (if letters are repeating): See link in references
- Concept of Derangements: permutation of the elements of a certain set in a way that no element of that set appears in their original positions.
- The number of derangements of a set with n objects is given by the formula
CAT Exam: Previous Year CAT Questions On Permutations and Combinations (Ranking and Derangements)
Q1. All the rearrangements of the word "DEMAND" are written without including any word that has two D's appearing together. If these are arranged alphabetically, what would be the rank of "DEMAND"? [CAT PYQ]
A. 36 B. 74 C. 42 D. 86
Ranking Arrangement Questions With Answers: (B)
Total words formed from the word DEMAND = 6! /2! = 360
Total words formed from the word DEMAND where 2 D’s appear together = 5! = 120
Total words formed from the word DEMAND where 2D’s do not appear together =
360 – 120 = 240
Words starting with ‘A’, without two D’s adjacent to each = Words starting with A - Words starting with A where 2 D’s are together
⇒ Words starting with ‘A’, without two D’s adjacent to each = 5!/2! - 4! = 36.
Next letter is D (in alphabetical order from the letters of the word DEMAND)
Words starting with DA: 4! words = 24 words
Words starting with DEA = 3! = 6 words
Words starting with DEA = 3! = 6 words
Words starting with DEMA
=> First word is DEMADN
=> Second is DEMAND
Rank of DEMAND = 36 + 24 + 6 + 6 + 2 = 74
Derangement and Ranking
Q2. In how many ways can you put 6 letters into their respective envelopes such that exactly 4 go into the right envelope? [CAT Sample Question]
a) 24 b) 102 c)15 d) 530
Ranking Arrangement Questions With Answers: (C)
No of ways in which the 4 correct envelopes can be selected= 6C4 =15
Derangement of the remaining 2 envelopes & letters =
= 2! (1 -1 + ½) = 1
Total No of ways of arrangement = 1 x 15= 15.
CAT entrance exam: Prerequisite to Derangement
Factorial
Fundamental Principle of counting,
Concept of Selection and Arrangement
Tips and Tricks of Ranking Arrangement Questions for CAT
For nCr to be greatest,
- if n is even, r = n/2
- if n is odd, r = (n + 1)/2 or (n – 1)/2
CAT 2024 College Predictor
Know Your Chances for getting Calls from IIMs & other Top MBA Colleges through CAT Percentile, based on your category, academic profile, work-ex & CAT result.
Use NowNumber of squares in a square of n × n side = 12 + 22 + 32 + 42 + … n2
Number of rectangles in a square of n × n side = 13 + 23 +33 + 43 + … n3. (This includes the number of squares.)
Practice sample papers and questions based on previous years CAT Questions.
Do not spend much time on this.
CAT study material: References to Study (Theory) Derangement and Ranking
- NCERT Class 11 Maths
- Concept Tree (YouTube, Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4Fp-vP243k)
- CAT Funda (YouTube, Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCqj1ijqp8w)
CAT study material: References to Practice ranking arrangement questions
- How to prepare quantitative Aptitude for CAT by Arun Sharma.
- (CAT PYQs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0UQxxR_slc)
Part-2: CAT 2023 Preparation Tips: CAT DILR tips (Logical Reasoning and Data Interpretation)
CAT 2023 Syllabus Topic: Strategy to prepare “Logical Deduction” for CAT
Important Concepts/ Formulas used in Logical Deduction
Middle term: It is the term common to both the premise and is denoted by ‘M’.
Major premise: The premise in which the middle term is in place of the predicate is called a major premise.
Minor premise: The premise in which the middle term is in the place of the subject is called a minor premise.
Subject vs Predicate: Consider this question statement
- All cats are dogs
- Some dogs are birds
- No bird is a pig
- Some pigs are not birds.
In all such statements, the first term is called the subject and the second is called the predicate.
CAT Exam: Previous years Questions on Logical Deduction from CAT/ MBA Entrance Exam:
Q1. Statements: No Arc is Circle. Some Arc are Triangles.
Conclusions:
Square are Circles
Some Triangles are Circles.
The only conclusion I follow
Only conclusion II follows
Either I or II follows
Neither I nor II follows
Both I and II follow
Solution: [D]
Statement I is negative.
Statemnet II is negative.
Therefore Negative conclusion must be there.
But neither conclusion is negative.
Logical Deduction Questions
Q2. The question contains six statements, followed by four options of combinations of any three of the given sentences. Choose the option in which the combinations are logically related. Consider the first two as statements and the third as conclusions:
Statements:
- Some pinks are colour.
- No Blue is black.
Conclusions:
- All pink are spark.
- Some sparks are not E.
- Some yellow are black.
- Some pink are black.
1. ABD 2. ABF 3. CDE 4. BCF 5. NOT
Solution: (5)
Option | Statement 1 | Statement 2 | Conclusion | Remark |
1 | A (+ve) | B (-ve) | D (-ve) | True |
2 | A (+ve) | B (-ve) | F (+ve) | False |
3 | C (+ve) | D (-ve) | E(+ve) | False |
4 | B (-ve) | C (+ve) | F (+ve) | False |
We must check option (1) only (rest are false); No common term is there A and B, so no conclusion can be drawn.
Hence answer is (5)
CAT entrance exam: Prerequisite
- Syllogism
- Venn Diagram
Tips and Tricks for CAT Logical Deduction Questions
There should be three and only three distinct terms between two premises for the conclusion to be obtained.
The middle term should be distributed at least once on the premises for the conclusion to be obtained.
Statement 1 | Statement 2 | Remark |
Positive | Positive | +ve Conclusion |
Positive | Negative | -ve Conclusion |
Negative | Positive | -ve Conclusion |
Negative | Negative | No Conclusion |
Learn the rule of distribution (See References to Study Link)
Practice Sample Papers.
References to CAT Study (Theory) Logical Deduction
- LRDI by Nikhil K. Sinha
- Concept Tree (YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkyRADOwUuY)
- (YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsl5y8xlqCw&t=442s)
References to Practice Logical Deduction questions
- Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning by R S Agrawal.
- MBA Entrance Previous years Papers and Sample Papers.
Part-3: CAT Exam Preparation 2023: CAT exam tips for VARC (Verbal Ability & Reading Comprehension)
CAT Exam Important Topic: Strategy to Prepare “One Word Substitution” and one word substitution questions for competitive exams such as CAT-2023
CAT Tips and Tricks for One Word Substitution Questions:
Divide the One-word substitutions into the categories like
One Word Substitution for Study
Some Examples:
Printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface | Lithography |
Mapping of earth and its formation | Geography |
Words used for people with various qualities, habits, and abilities.
Some Examples:
The doctor who attends to corn in the feet and hands | Chiropodist |
The doctor who deals with the female reproductive system | Gynecologist |
Words for likes and dislikes
Some Examples:
One who loves and admires the British | Anglophile |
One who loves without seriousness | Philanderer |
Words used for practices & beliefs
Some Examples:
One who believes in many Gods | Polytheist |
One who believes that God is the union of all forces of the universe | Pantheist |
Words used for various kinds of killings
Some Examples:
the killing of a whole race | Genocide |
The killing of a newborn child | Infanticide |
There can be more categories like this.
Remember the following factors while choosing a word for a sentence
- Contextual
- Grammatical
- Tone of sentence
- Insight
Learning more about substitution will be helpful.
Practice Sample questions.
CAT Previous Years' Questions on One Word Substitution MCQs
Sample Questions:
Directions: Choose the best substitute from the given options for highlighted phrase
Q.1. We visited the ancient palace yesterday, there we saw old manuscripts written by saints, we tried but it was not clear enough to be read.
- Corrigible
- Legible
- Negligible
- Illegible
Ans: [4]
One word substitution quiz with answers
Q.2. They organized a house party for Sara’s birthday but she does not get excited easily even if you put in a lot of effort and emotion.
- Gregarious
- Placid
- Inclement
- Frenzied
Ans: [2]
CAT 2023: Prerequisite to one word substitution MCQs
- Sentence Structure
- Vocabulary
- Parts of Speech
CAT exam: References to Study (Theory)
- One word substitution questions for competitive exams
- Wren and Martin
- (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YPMi1RbSb0)
CAT exam: References to Practice one word substitution questions
- one-word substitution MCQs
- Verbal Ability for CAT by Arun Sharma and Meenakshi Upadhyay.
- CAT Previous years Papers and other MBA Entrance Exams.
- (youTube; Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1DU9ZWbGvLs)
Practice and remain focused, and we'll be back tomorrow with Day 39.
Thank you! All the best!
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Questions related to CAT
Have a question related to CAT ?
With a 65 percentile in CAT, getting admission to USMS (Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University) may be difficult, as its cutoff is usually 75-85 percentile or higher for the general category.
However, you can consider other good MBA colleges that accept 60-70 percentile in CAT, such as:
Christ University, Bangalore
Institute of Public Enterprise, Hyderabad
Amrita School of Business, Kochi
PES University, Bangalore
KIIT School of Management, Bhubaneswar
Rajagiri Centre for Business Studies, Kochi
Army Institute of Management, Kolkata
Research their admission criteria, placements, and faculty to choose the best fit.
Poral Siddartha (siddu) 02 March,2025
Hello
With a 65 percentile in CAT , USMS (GGSIPU) admission is difficult as its cutoffs are usually higher. However, you can explore private and tier-2/tier-3 MBA colleges that accept lower CAT scores.
Options to Consider:
1. Private MBA Colleges :
Amity University, Noida
LPU (Lovely Professional University)
Alliance University, Bangalore
Christ University, Bangalore
Apeejay School of Management, Delhi
2. B-Schools Accepting Lower CAT Percentile :
BIMTECH (PGDM-Retail/IB/Insurance)
XIME Bangalore
ITM Navi Mumbai
IPE Hyderabad
Jaipuria Institute of Management
3. Other Entrance Exams :
Appear for MAT, CMAT, XAT (low percentile accepted by some colleges)
Consider state-level exams like MAH CET, KMAT or TANCET .
Hope this gives you the clarity you need.
Mitali Sharma 02 March,2025
Hello there,
With your
academic profile (General, Male, Non-Engineer)
, you should
target MBA colleges that focus more on CAT percentile than past academics.
Target Colleges & Minimum CAT Percentile:
- Top IIMs (A, B, C, L, K, I, FMS, XLRI, SPJIMR, MDI, etc.) – 90-99+ percentile (Tough due to low 12th marks)
- New & Baby IIMs (IIM Trichy, Udaipur, Rohtak, etc.) – 85+ percentile
- Tier-2 Colleges (IMT, TAPMI, GIM, KJ Somaiya, etc.) – 75-85 percentile
-
Tier-3 Colleges (BIMTECH, NDIM, ITM, etc.) – 60-75 percentile
What to Focus On?
- Score high in CAT (85+ percentile recommended)
- Apply to non-CAT colleges (XAT, NMAT, SNAP, CMAT)
- Strengthen profile with work experience or certifications
- Perform well in GD-PI rounds
You
can
get a good MBA college with
strategic applications
and
high CAT/XAT percentile.
I hope this answer helps you. If you have more queries then feel free to share your questions with us we will be happy to assist you.
Thank you and wishing you all the best for your bright future.
kumardurgesh1802 27 February,2025
Hi,
As per your given JEE Main percentile which is 88.34 in the SC Category, Your Predicted JEE MAINS 2025 rank may range between 147086 - 170102.
Based on the previous year analysis, According to your JEE MAINS percentile and category you have less possibility of getting a seat for admission in NIT Surathkal.
Some of the other colleges in which you have chances to get admission includes:
- Harcourt Butler Technological University
- G.L Bajaj Institute of Technology and Management
- Galgotais college of engineering and Technology
- Institute of engineering and Technology, Lucknow
- Kamla Nehru Institute of Technology
- Bundelkhand Institute of engineering and Technology
You can predict more colleges using the JEE MAINS 2025 college predictor tool.
Hope this information will help you
Devraj 26 February,2025
With your academic background, you have a good chance of getting into some of the top IIMs. Here's a breakdown of your profile:
- Class 10:91.6% - Excellent!
- Class 12:66% - Average, but not a deal-breaker
- B.Tech Computer Science: 8.4 CGPA - Very good!
Assuming you score well in CAT , here are some IIMs you might have a good chance of getting into:
- IIM Ahmedabad: Although the qualifying CAT cut off is 85 percentile, the final cut off typically goes up to 99-100 percentile.With a good CAT score, you might be considered.
- IIM Kozhikode: The CAT cut off for IIM Kozhikode is typically around 95-98 percentile. Your academic profile and a good CAT score might make you a competitive candidate.
- IIM Indore:The CAT cut off for IIM Indore is typically around 90-95 percentile. With a good CAT score and your academic background, you might have a chance.
Keep in mind that CAT cut offs can vary from year to year, and other factors like work experience, extracurricular activities, and personal interviews also play a significant role in the admission process.
To increase your chances, focus on scoring well in CAT, and make sure you have a strong overall profile.
sadafreen356 24 February,2025
Popular CAT Questions
Directions for question :
M/s Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, one of the top four audit and accounting firms in the world with headquarters at London, UK, and with an operational presence in 153 countries, hires Management Trainees (MT) from all the premier management institutes of India thrice every year, in the months of January, May and September.
Each new group of Management Trainees (MT) have to go through a four month rigorous training schedule, after which they have to pass through a test consisting of a written assessment and a case-analysis. The top hundred ranked Management Trainees (MT) based on the performance in the test are confirmed as Management Executives (ME). The rest are given the opportunity of undergoing the training for four months one more time along with the next batch of Management Trainees (MT) and then passing through the subsequent test consisting of the written assessment and case-analysis. The Management Trainee (MT) who fails to get confirmed as a Management Executive (ME) the second time is fired.
The scatter-graph below depicts the number of Management Trainees (MT) at Deloitte taking the tests from January 2020 till May 2022, and the vis-à-vis hired Management Trainees (MT) at Deloitte who were fired :
It is also known that for the month of September 2019 at Deloitte, 96 hired Management Trainees (MT) failed to be confirmed as a Management Executive (ME) the first time, and that 36 hired Management Trainees (MT) were fired.
Question :
In which test did the minimum number of Management Trainees (MT) get confirmed as a Management Executive (ME) in the second attempt ?
Option: 1
September 2020
Option: 2
May 2021
Option: 3
January 2021
Option: 4
January 2022
Directions for question:
The bar-graph given below shows the foreign exchange reserves of Nepal (in million Rupees) from 2014 to 2021. Answer the following questions based on the graph :
Question:
What was the percentage increase (rounded to the nearest integer, if deemed necessary) in the foreign exchange reserves in 2020 over 2016 ?
Option: 1 None
Option: 2 None
Option: 3 None
Option: 4 None
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